The Kota school of painting is a fine pattern of painting of Rajput style. It belongs to the erstwhile Kota kingdom of Rajasthan, it is distinguished for the portrayal of hunting expeditions, battles, marriages and other major political events. It was a merge of Hindu and Muslim style of painting. Opaque water colors were generally used and the themes are habitually related to politics, religion and literature.
One of the favored topics in these paintings was the preferred royal sport, tiger hunting etc. These paintings portrayed the king, mounted on elephant during hunting along with his followers amidst dense vegetation. Often the artists accompanied these expeditions to record the events. They captured the actions of the animals, most prominent among them being the elephant. Much stress was given on the energy and majesty of the elephant rather than its adornment. Artists of the Kota school were considered the best in typically depicting the elephant.
